Thursday, June 27, 2013

Today is the age of the consumer. So, what does the consumer
expect? Great customer experience.

The customer service industry has been buzzing about
customer experience for quite a while now, and many companies have adopted it
into their business strategies. It doesn’t matter how big or small your
contact center is, what industry you’re in, or whether your company is B2C or
B2B. Customer experience is critical for all companies.

Today, customer experience also involves listening to the
Voice of the Customer through listening posts, analyzing customer feedback to
create a basis for acting on better business decisions and measuring the impact
of those decisions to drive greater operational performance and customer
loyalty.

Through this process a company can strategically organize
itself to manage a customer's experience with its product or company, and tap
into cost savings and revenue drivers that can deliver profitability in all
aspects of business operations.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Greeting customers when they enter your business is good
customer service, but it won’t make yours stand out. Creating a unique customer
experience (CX) is the best way to make a lasting impression. For a
truly memorable experience, companies must find new ways to create innovative CXs.
Recently, Forbes
shared four ways some companies are doing just that.

Rethink Everything. For
ages, restaurants everywhere in the world have worked the same way. When developing
new ideas for CX, restaurateurs aren’t apt to consider upsetting that basic
structure. But, Rajat Suri is seeking to change that with the Presto tablet, a
touch-screen gadget that allows customers to skip the waiting part of dining in.

“Suri demonstrated the gadget over dinner at a Mediterranean
restaurant, where the only interaction with waiters came when they delivered
the falafel,” reported Bloomberg Businessweek. “Presto lets diners order by
scrolling through pictures of entrées and pay swiping a card through Presto’s
built-in reader.”

Confound Expectations.
Another type of business that has stuck to the same procedure is the bank.
John Wynn of Universal Mind explained how one bank is
innovating around customers’ expectations in a way that doesn’t require
high-tech gadgets.

“Branches are referred to as ‘stores’ with a greater
emphasis on retail operations and atmosphere,” said Wynn. “Those ‘stores’ are
considered destinations, where a customer can not only handle banking needs but
also take a few minutes to learn more about financial products and services. The
concept was created to empower all associates with the ability to work in
all areas of a traditionally specialized banking environment.”

Consider Soft
Innovation. Even companies that peddle product instead of services can
innovate without inventing new hardware. In “The Method Method,” Eric Ryan
and Adam Lowry refer to the concept as “soft innovation.” Soft innovation means
highlighting small things about a product in a way that alters the CX.

“Soft innovators establish new standards for quality,
experience, and sales in their categories without doing anything profoundly
innovative,” they wrote in an excerpt of the book. “Think Ben &
Jerry’s, which introduced the ice cream pint to the world as a more personal
alternative to the half-gallon or gallon tub.”

Treat Them Like V.I.P. Threadflip has
made reselling clothes easier with White Glove Service, a fashion website that
eliminated the hassle of listing and shipping used items. Sellers must first
apply to take advantage of the free service, but those who participate receive
prepaid labels, and then send it back to the company.

Staff will then suggest
prices, post the items, and ship them when they’re purchased.

There are countless ways a business can create a unique CX.
It means that no matter how many brilliant customer experiences other companies
implement, there’s always another idea out there to transform the CX.

Amanda Ciccatelli, Social Media Strategist at IIR USA in New York City, has a background in digital and print journalism, covering a variety of topics in business strategy, marketing, and technology. She previously worked at Technology Marketing Corporation as a Web Editor where she covered breaking news and feature stories in the tech industry. She can be reached at aciccatelli@iirusa.com. Follow her at @AmandaCicc.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Today’s customer understands they now have power. They now
expect more than just a product or a service from you. They expect a
relationship that is on equal term and they expect to be at the center of your
world. And your company needs to put them there.

As the marketplace becomes more crowded with products and
services, it is becoming much more difficult for companies to stand out amidst
the clutter. In the past, how you packaged your product was extremely
important, as well as the messaging around it. These elements are still
critical, but now you also need to offer the customer a positive, unique
experience.

The customer experience is a blend of a company's physical
performance and the emotions evoked, intuitively measured against customer
expectations across all touch-points. This means that every time a company and
a customer interact, the customer learns something about the company that will strengthen
or weaken the future relationship - and with that - the customer's desire to
return, spend and recommend.

Check out this cool video by Salesforce.com about how in this day in
age, your company needs to become a “customer company” to be successful.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Here's a "How To" designed to get your message noticed, read and acted upon.

This
article is about how to optimize your chances that someone will get your
message.

We’re
not writing this down for our health.We
want our message heard.

1.We all want our the messages we send to customers to be heard.

2.We want our selling
message to a potential customer to be persuasive.

3.We want our message
to customers acted on.

There
are some clear steps you can take to increase the chances your message will get
processed in the manner you're hoping for.

Of
course your message has to have merit.This blog entry is not discussing content.But let’s at least say, you should be trying
your best to say something important.Time is short and we’re all busy so let’s not waste people’s time.

Statistics
tell us the odds of being heard are against you.Consider that we receive 5x as much
information today as we did in 1986. We consume about 100,500 words on an
average day.We’re overloaded.

We’re consuming most of these words on line but it’s tough
to get people to interact.Up by ½ hour
each year, people spend over three hours a day on social networks while TV, Radio,
newspaper and magazine reading/watching is down year after year.Your chances of getting someone to interact with
your posting are low…consider that people average 36 posts per month on FB and
spend 20 minutes per FB visit.

People are spending their time on social networks more than
any other medium.They have a lot of
information to choose from.This is why
it’s important to make sure your message counts.

Most
of these suggestions are things you probably either know, or thought you
knew.But I think in our haste we forget
how important these persuasive steps can be to help us be successful.

Be
Concise

We’re
humanly no better at reading this overload of information than we were 30 years
ago.When you put your message in front
of your audience, they take in about 20% of the words.Think about that.That means you have to keep your message
short.Concise.

Make
sure your message has a self adapting component.In other words, it works in any format.

Use
Color

Color increases
readers’ attention spans and recall by 82%. Researchers found that color visuals
increase the willingness to read by 80%.Color gains readership by 80%. It’s 39% more
memorable. Color increases comprehension by as much as 73%. And increases
retention even more.It increases sales
results and brand recognition.Are you getting this?

Use
Pictures

People
following directions with text and illustrations do 323% better than people
following directions without illustrations.In fact this works for in person presentations and in tests 67% of the
audience were persuaded by the verbal presentation that had accompanying
visuals.Think about it…when you’re
looking at a news-feed, aren’t you more likely to click on the entry with a
picture?

Brain
Scans?

Adding
pictures of brain scans and mentioning cognitive neuroscience make people more
inclined to believe what they are reading.It’s kind of hard to sneak it into your message, but it does fit into
this story so what the heck.

Conclusion

We’re
inundated with information.Yet we all
want OUR message to be heard.Maximize
your chances for successful communication by being Concise, by using Pictures
and Pictographs.Of course make certain
you’re writing something worthy of being read.

Ron Shulkin blogs researches and writes about enterprise
technology focused on social media, innovation, voice of the customer,
marketing automation and enterprise feedback management.Ron Shulkin is Vice President of the Americas
for CogniStreamer®, an innovation ecosystem. CogniStreamer serves as a
Knowledge Management System, Idea Management System and Social Network for
Innovation. You can learn more about CogniStreamer here http://bit.ly/ac3x60
.Ron manages The Idea Management Group
on LinkedIn (Join
Here).
You can follow him Twitter. You can follow his blogs
at this Facebook group.
You can connect with Ron on LinkedIn.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

It’s a question that so many people in the customer
experience measurement business are asking: They are collecting feedback from their
customers, but what’s next?

Action planning is part of the evolution of how American
Family Insurance does business when it comes to customer experience. The
insurer isn’t just there for their customers during accidents and catastrophes,
they’re listening to the voice of their customer every day.

Maritz Research recently partnered with American Family to
help them take their customer satisfaction data to the next level. Brian O’Connor
of Maritz Research and Katie Churches of American Family Insurance shared their
success story at the Total
Customer Experience Leader’s (TCEL) Summit. The goal was to provide agents
and other employees at American Family Insurance with information to help them
proactively notify customers about rate changes to their premiums.

Check out the full video
below to see highlights from the TCEL presentation and hear more about how
action planning is making a difference.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Nowadays, organizations are using technology to create a
personalized customer experience (CX). But, they must remember that when
it comes to collecting customer information, it isn’t just business, it’s personal.
These days, customers are becoming much more comfortable with providing
personal information in exchange for an improved CX.

49 percent would allow retailers to collect personal
shopping data in exchange for a more personalized experience.

54 percent are comfortable with retailers storing purchase
history in exchange for increased personalized value.

65 percent are comfortable receiving mobile retail advice
based on current location as detected through their mobile device.

When it comes to providing personal information, there is an
increased level of trust between the customer and the organization. In the report, 69
percent of customers said they would be willing to give their bank personal
information if it meant they could receive more personalized services, but 57
percent said they don’t want their bank to share any of the personal
information.

There is such a thing as too much information, and organizations
must be cautious to keep customers happy. According to Business2Community, here
are three ways to begin personalizing
the CX without getting too
personal:

Call the Customer by
Name – Saying a person’s name is one of the best things a brand can do to
improve the CX. While incorporating a name into the CX may seem simple, you
must use correct spelling, pronunciation and never ask the customer to repeat
it.

Deliver Custom
Content - If you know what your customers are searching for, give it to
them. Whether its product or service related content based on past or recent
purchases, or customer service content based on frequently asked questions,
personalized content is proven to improve the CX.

Ask the Right
Questions - Increase the completion rate of customer surveys, as well
as customer satisfaction, by personalizing feedback requests by
tailoring the questions. Consumers lose motivation for completing surveys with
numerous questions, when only some of the questions matter to them.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Today, a better customer experience can contribute to
greater customer loyalty. But how do you define a great customer experience
(CX)? Steven Woods, Group Vice President and Software Development at Oracle, says
it is based on two things: understanding a buyer well enough to know what they
are interested in and then delivering this message. The CX should be
a reflection of everything that makes up your brand – not just the products or
services, but its attitudes, values and differentiation.

In addition, Vice President of Customer Experience at
Forrester Research Harley Manning says we can prove that CX correlates to
loyalty. A CX correlates to willingness to consider for another purchase,
willingness to recommend, and reluctance to switch providers. If you want good
word-of-mouth, and if you want to keep your customers, it’s unlikely that
anything else you do matters more than delivering a superior experience.

Today’s consumers are more likely to choose a company that
offers a superior and personalized CX. Personalization is becoming a mandatory
component of the CX. That being said, according to Technically Marketing, here
are 10
important CX stats to keep in mind for 2013:

Eighty-six percent of buyers will pay more for a better CX,
but only 1 percent of customers feel that vendors meet their expectations.

Only 37 percent of brands received “good” or “excellent” CX scores
this year. Sixty-four percent of brands got a rating of “OK,” “poor,” or
“very poor.”

Eighty-nine percent of consumers began doing business with a
competitor following a poor CX.

Customer power has grown as 73 percent of businesses trust
recommendations, while only 19 percent trust direct mail.

Eighty-six percent of customers will pay more for a better CX.

Only 26 percent of companies have a developed strategy in
place for improving CX.

When asked what were the key drivers for a customer to spend
more with a company 40 percent said improvement in the overall CX, and 35
percent said provide quick access to information and make it easier for
customers to answer questions.

CX is a high priority for consumers in a negative economy as
60 percent say they often pay more for a better experience.

About 13 per cent of dissatisfied customers tell more than
20 people.

The moral of these stats is the better the CX a company
provides, the more likely customers are to purchase again and to recommend your
company– and the less likely to go to a competitor.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

No matter what size, all businesses need to stay on top of
their customers' experience. So, who is in charge? Some say it’s the Chief Customer Officer’s
job, while the CMO is currently considered to represent the voice of the customer
at 18 percent of organizations, behind sales at 31 percent. These days, customer
experience management (CEM) is becoming more and more of a priority, so
businesses must get on the same page in order to move forward.

According to a recent study, “Voice
of the Customer: Whose Job Is It, Anyway?" by the Intelligence Unit of
The Economist, in the next three years, global organizations will make customer
experience (CX) a top priority. However, the study shows that only 56 percent
of respondents believe their companies understand customers. But, many
companies find it challenging to restructure their businesses around the
customer since they have traditionally focused it around product lines. In
fact, only six in 10 people view their companies as customer-centric, and half
report an understanding of customers' needs.

"A growing shift to digital marketing also provides a
rich foundation for data-driven customer insight," Wilson Raj, Global
Customer Intelligence Director for SAS sad. "CMOs are in a prime position
to be champions for the voice of the customer -- if they shore up digital and
customer analytics skills across the marketing organization."

The survey concludes whoever aspires to represent the voice
of the customer must draw on customer insights to create an exceptional experience
spanning physical and digital channels. The key to the CMO delivering an evolving
customer-centric mandate is in the rise of Web, social and mobile channels
that will take on greater significance in customer engagement.

Arjun Mitra, executive vice president at Firstsource, says
it is critical for businesses to be on the front line of understanding CX in
order to stay relevant in today's marketplace. "Differentiated CX builds
confidence in the brand and strengthens the emotional connections with
customers," he explained. "Companies that make the necessary
investment in CEM will gain the strategic blueprint they need to help boost
their bottom line."

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Customer Experience Management (CEM) is all about bringing
the customer into the center of the organization. A big challenge operators
will have is to break down the silos inside the organization. How you integrate
different departments into the single view of the customer is very important.